This week in my English 315 course we were assigned to read the following articles: “Collaboration and Concepts of Authorship”, and “Introduction: from Wikipedia and the Politics of Openness.” Overall both articles discussed the detailed aspects of the written process and what is involved in the development of any written piece. The article, “Collaboration and Concepts of Authorship”, first breaks down the written process by bringing attention to the myth of the “author” figure behind the words an audience absorbs. “We continue to maintain the traditional image of the author as an individualist up against a materialistic world, trying to create something pure and unsullied by the rank commercialism of society despite the interference of the system of publication, which requires mediation and compromise-an image that Jack Stillinger has called "the romantic myth of the author as solitary genius" (202).”(Inge, M. Thomas) Through this quote I began to understand the myth and how it has affected my own personal view of what an “author” is and what I originally believed justified one. Personally I understood and credited the editors and ideas behind the book, but it was interesting to see and fully understand  how I still saw the “author” as a solo entity. When formally thinking of the differences between a traditional book and a Wikipedia page my mind in addition to the differences in format and content, saw the image of an, “author” as a concept only reserved for the traditional format of a book. Aside from the array of creators behind both sources of written content, the article, “Introduction: from Wikipedia and the Politics of Openness”, talks about how Wikipedia’s format and purpose has become that of a reinvented encyclopedia. In its gist Wikipedia acts differently in that of a book, with its content being registered on an online platform, the content takes on a different precedent. In order to explain the content and format of Wikipedia, the article discussed the openness that the site provides in comparison to how the nation hopes to be “open” in a sense. “My administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in government.”(Tkacz, Nathaniel) This quote is in reference to a stance that former President Obama wanted to put in place, to create a change of openness. It was interesting to see how the article related the government based stance to the format of Wikipedia and how it acts as a source of open online information. Although it still has guidelines and regulations this format creates a new type of written dimension for people. It was interesting and educational to read both of these articles, because it gave me deeper insight on both the sources of written pieces of the original book format and the online outlet known as Wikipedia.

 

Works cited: 

 

Inge, M. Thomas, “Collaboration and Concepts of Authorship”. Modern Language 

•    Association,Vol.116, No.3, May 2001,pp. 623-630, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/463502

 

Tkacz, Nathaniel, “Wikipedia and the Politics of Openness”. Canvas, Canvas file pdf.